Camp-N-Jam 6
at
Rock
Maple
Woods
Words and Photos By Drew Hines
L
ong meandering roads curve through New
Hampshire’s rural landscape leading to Rock
Maple Woods, the venue for this year’s CampN-Jam, a local music festival now in its sixth year.
The long dirt driveway is only wide enough for one car
and there is a handmade wooden sign hanging from a
tree that says, “Welcome Home”. The warm hospitality can make anybody feel at home.
Go-Local, the producers of the two-day, overnight
festival, is a non-profit organization made up of a
handful of passionate musicians and music lovers
who feel that local music is an important element to
a successful community. By promoting artists from
New Hampshire and neighboring states, Go-Local
is successfully rejuvenating the music scene in New
Hampshire.
“There's a wealth of amazing artists in the area
that often go unnoticed and our goal has always been
to bring them to the public’s attention in a way that
has an impact on the community in a positive, memorable way by using unique venues and professional
production,” says Go-Local member and Camp-N-Jam
organizer Mark Trottier.
Go-Local owns three mobile stages that were cumbersome and time consuming to build. What made
Rock Maple Woods unique and perfect for Camp-NJam, is that there is a beautiful stage built on site out
of logs and rustically aged wood. The front of the stage
overlooks a naturally formed amphitheater scattered
with large boulders and wooden benches.
“The sound, production and lights were all top
notch,” says Mike MacDonald, lead singer of the festival’s headliner, Strange Machines. He adds, “Cooper Leafe and Josh Blair at Upstream Sounds [who
provided the sound for Camp-N-Jam] do phenomenal
work!”
18 • CIDER MAG • cidermag.com
Winter • 2015